LNG companies sign agreement to connect infrastructure

THE companies behind two Curtis Island LNG projects have signed gas swap and infrastructure connection agreements that make gas transportation more efficient.

The new agreements, signed on Friday, between the Santos GLNG and Australia Pacific LNG projects will make gas transportation more efficient between the two projects' Surat Basin gas fields in Queensland, and reduce the need for additional pipeline infrastructure.

Santos GLNG and Australia Pacific LNG are joint venture partners in a number of permits in the Surat and Bowen Basins, and the agreements will allow both parties to more efficiently access and transport their gas, in order to meet the requirements of their CSG to LNG projects.

Santos's Queensland vice president Trevor Brown said the agreement demonstrated the real efforts that Queensland's LNG projects were making to work together to reduce costs and deliver long-lasting efficiencies.

"It's a win-win for both projects and puts us in a strong position as we work towards the delivery of first LNG in 2015," he said.

Origin chief executive officer LNG David Baldwin said the agreement helped reduce the footprint of the industry by avoiding the need to build additional infrastructure such as pipelines.

Under the agreement, two pipeline connection points will be built between GLNG and APLNG infrastructure and a number of gas swap agreements will be undertaken to minimise gas movements and operational costs.

The first pipeline connection on the Santos-operated Fairview gas field, north of Roma, will enable significant volumes of gas to flow bi-directionally between the two projects.

The second pipeline will connect the GLNG Scotia gas field, east of Roma, to APLNG's main gas transmission pipeline.

Without this agreement both projects would need a total of 140km of additional pipelines and multiple connection points at compressor stations to each deliver its gas to Curtis Island.

The Australia Pacific LNG project includes the development of Australia Pacific LNG's substantial coal seam gas resources in the Surat and Bowen Basins, a 530km transmission pipeline, and a multi-train LNG facility on Curtis Island, Gladstone.

GLNG:

The Santos GLNG Project is a joint venture between Santos (30%), Petronas (27.5%), Total (27.5%) and Kogas (15%) to supply liquefied natural gas for export to global markets.

The project involves the development of gas fields in the Bowen and Surat Basins, the construction of a 420km underground gas transmission pipeline to Gladstone and a two-train LNG processing facility on Curtis Island, Gladstone.